Health agencies and regional partners in the Americas have agreed to a Joint Declaration to advance the One Health approach, aiming to coordinate responses to zoonotic disease, food safety risks, climate-linked threats and antimicrobial resistance.
What the declaration covers
The agreement — announced by the Quadripartite Alliance (the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the World Organisation for Animal Health, the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization and the United Nations Environment Programme) together with regional bodies such as the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture and the Regional International Organization for Plant and Animal Health — is described as the first regional pact of its kind in the Americas.
The declaration calls for integrated, cross-sectoral action that brings together human health, animal health and environmental conservation to address a range of threats, including:
- Zoonotic diseases — illnesses transmitted between animals and people;
- Foodborne disease and other food-safety risks;
- Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) across human, animal and environmental sectors;
- Impacts of climate change, biodiversity loss and environmental pollution on health;
- Ecosystem degradation that alters disease emergence and spread.
Why the move matters
The declaration comes against a backdrop of striking statistics underscoring the need for a One Health strategy. International estimates cited alongside the announcement note that roughly 60% of known human infectious diseases are zoonotic and that about 75% of emerging infectious diseases originate from animals. Those proportions highlight how animal and environmental health influence human outbreaks.
Global burden data included with the statement also point to the toll of antimicrobial resistance and foodborne disease. The World Health Organization estimates that AMR causes 1.27 million direct deaths annually and plays a role in nearly 5 million associated deaths. Foodborne diseases are estimated to cause about 1.5 million deaths each year, with 78,000 of those occurring in the Americas.
| Health threat | Estimated annual deaths (global/region) |
|---|---|
| Antimicrobial resistance | 1.27 million direct; ~5 million associated (global) |
| Foodborne disease | 1.5 million (global); 78,000 in the Americas |
Practical implications and next steps
The declaration emphasizes coordinated surveillance, joint risk assessments and shared response plans across sectors and borders. By formalizing regional cooperation, partners aim to improve early detection of zoonotic outbreaks, harmonize food-safety measures and strengthen actions to curb antimicrobial misuse and environmental drivers of disease.
Officials framed the agreement as a strategic effort to translate global One Health principles into regionally tailored actions — particularly relevant given recent challenges such as avian influenza and other cross-border animal health events cited alongside the announcement.
For policymakers and public health authorities, the declaration offers a framework for pooling technical resources, aligning laboratory and surveillance capacity, and coordinating communications during health events that cross human, animal and environmental lines.
What to watch next: how signatory countries and organizations move from declaration to implementation — including funding, measurable targets and mechanisms for information-sharing — will determine whether the agreement reduces disease burden across the Americas.
